Flash light



A. S. LYHNE. FLASH LIGHT rwmcmou man DCI 13.1920

Patented Mar. 7, 1922.

' ATTORNEY UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ANKER S. LYHNE, O1? BRIIQGEPORT, CONNECTICFT FLASH LIGHT.

ment in Flash Lights, of which the follow ing is a specification.

This invention. relates to a pocket flashlight of medium size having features which are not present in the well known forms now in use and which are not suggested in their construction or use.

Of the many objects of the invention, one is to provide a flashlight which when laid on. a surface sneh as a table, 's prevented from rolling by reason of the blocking ef fect of the angular end acting by itself or in mnjnnrtion with a clip on the casing. As the flashlight When laid down directs the light at a combined horizontal and vertical angle to the axis of the casing there is no occasion to shift the axis of the casing or raise one end to direct the light as desired.

Another object gained is that this invention makes it possible to hang the flashlight on the clothing: for writing, reading music and similar activities when it is desired to have both hands engaged. Likewise this invention can he hung on a hook or on a projection on an automobile during repair operations Still a 'Fiirther object is to provide a light which when carried in the hand directs its light to. the ground without arching the wrist in order to cover the ground, and maintaining an nnna-tnral position. Similarly inlooking at a gas meter or into a gasoline tank the hand and Wrist .are not interposed in the line of vision or turned to one side to east the light where desired.

When stood on end it directs its light horizontally instead of upwardl and at all times and places can be refille with new batteries rommonly carried in stock.

Other advantages will. become apparent in connection with the following description of the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification, in which:

Fig. l. is a perspective view of my novel flashligl'it showing all exterior features;

F 2* a cross secti n on the axis; and

Fig. 3 is a perspective VlGVV of two portions of the easing showing the connecting joint between the elbow piece and the main casing. I

The main casing 10 is of usual form, and

Specification of Letters Patent.

hy insulation 20, all of Patented Mar. 7 1922.

Application filed Oetuber I8, 1920. Serial No. 417,753.

contains one or more dry cells. it being closed at one endn'here an insulating diso 11 is retained within a flared portion vhich serves to give an enlarged hose upon which to stand the flashlight. .l nsulatinn ll has a turned up rim 12 which enclose-i a perforate insulation disc 1. -3. both pit- 3 of in sulation being retained. in intiniai'e relation by reason of the. pressure of the llilllllj'tfllt portion of the casing which of rwlmed diameter at the edge of insulation 1 conductor strip 14. plared betmzen in. and. 12. is bent at a right angle and, is

tended along the casing t th -ir itr- 15 with IHtlllllll'lg button {-3. helm strips of insulation 16, ll). which so nrnte the conductor strip from the hatterr and from the casing 10.

At a point near the center ot-the base Llm conductor strip has united to it a short sind 17 extending through the hole in, the kill-3C it? and formed with an enlarged h will admitting! of adequate eloctrirai (:onn i-t' n to one end of a spring 18. The, i'-" lllljf, stud. :10!!- dnetor strip and all, the insulation members are assembled and inserted in. and fonml down so that the ["llll i2 is p .sswl upon and retained by the i'ltljitPilll poltmz; of the easing of reduced diameter.

source of energy capable of reusing light in the form of a battery 3.9. surrounded the usual type, and having a center Contact 30 at the lamp end and a corresponding: mutant upon the surface of the. other end is pinned in the casing and held so that the spring. 1 -5 makes a good contact.

The battery is held against the spring by a cap 21 which telesz-opes with the casing until its inner edge contacts with a heading 22 formed on the easing; 10. in order to retain the parts in posiion a plurality of circmnferentialiy spaced pins 33 are fastened in the casing at diametrically o osite positions at short: way from the head as shown in Figure 3, I

Elongated slots 24 are iOflil mi in the cap corresponding to the spacing of the pins away from the heading and their width is such as to properly reeeive the pins. The slots are shaped so as to provide a notch 46 at the end away from the channel 25 and between the notch and the channel there is till bow piece being integral and having an covered channel 25 is provided so as to ad- ,mit the pins to the slots and for this purpose the material of the ca between the slots and the edge is press'e hei ht suflicient to pass the pins thereunder. ith this construction it- 18 only necessary to place'the cap upon the casing and rotate one or the other until the channel 2 receives the pins, when pressure forces the pins into the slots 24 and a slight pressure and turn moves the pins into the notch 46' of the slot.

A second beading 26 is provided in the cap ,21 for positioning n elbow member later' to be dealt with in ull. The ,cap carries a disc of insiilation 27 which-is clamped in position b turning over the outer ends of the cap su ciently. At the center of disc 27 a hollow rivet 28 is fastened and holds on the exterior the angled lamp contact 29 which is-thus in circuit with the battery at the end .co'ntact 30.

The lamp 3]., of'usual form, is screwed into a reflector 32, having a rim 33 held in place against the outer edge of an elbow piece 34 by means of a screw clamping member 35, which has a rim 36, holding the edge of a lens 37 of usual type against the rim 33 and edge of 34.

The elbow 34 is formed oi solid one piece material of substantially the same thickness as the casing and comprises a cylindrical portion 38, an; elbow portion 69,-and an enlarged screw portion 40 already referredto. The elbow is sweated to the cap 21 adjacent the head 26 and thus becomes integral with it.

The elbow portion 39 is pressed into shape so as to form a 90 degree angle to the casing 10 and is me ged into the flared portion-40 which carried the screw holdingv the screw clamping member 35 in place, whichholds,

the lens and the reflector in position. Thus a 'rigid one piece holding member for the lamp and associated parts is provided which serves tmdirect the light from the lamp in a direction at an angle to the axis of the casing. The directing. of the rays of light as carried out b this flashlight is in no way to be confuse with a flexible attachment'at this place which must be manipulated b one hand while held in the other. This is assigned angle needs no manipulation and the direction of its light is controlled by the positioning of the casing which carries it. There is no occasion to limit the angle of the elbow to ninety degrees as another fixed angle ma be found moredesirable.

n addition to the means for directing the liglit incident to a casing 10 and a fixed flarc ended elbow 39, which of themselves will control the direction of'the light when the iiashlight is laid down along its axis, there is an attaching clip 41 adjustably attached outwardly; to a to the casing and readily removable therefrom. The clip comprises two main portions a circular spring clamp 42 partly encircling the casin and 26, and a spring clasp 43 with a flanged end'qi t, A slot 45 having a circular and a straight portion is formed at the upper end of the clip so that the flashlight may be hun upon a nail or the like.

T e long spring clasp permits ready insertion behind a belt or the edge of a pocket or other parts of the clothing or in other like places. In addition being slightly arched and extending from the surface of. the casing 1O, the clip 41 serves as a stop to prevent rolling when the flashlight is laid upon an approximatel horizontal surface. At other times when a justed circumferentially of the casing it cooperates with the flared end 40 of the casing topositively position the casing on the surface.

Again when-the clasp 43 is inserted in the belt the casing mayabe turned in the clamp 42 so that the light is, directed in a fixed di rection and maintained there.

The clamp 42 is made of fairly stiff spring material and shaped to a circle slightly less in diameter than the outer diameter oi the casin Itis placed in position by withdrawing t e cap 21. and elbow 39 from the casing 10, by unlocking the pin and slot connection described, and forcing the clamp against the head 26 at which position it may be moved circumferentially of the cap 21 without touching the covering of the channel 25. By reason of its clamping action, due to its reduced diameter, the joint made by the pin and slot connection isreinforced and the As shown in Figure'2, the circuit closer 10 between the beads 22 i of the usifal type is placed on the same side 7 of the casing as the flared screw portion. 40 of the elbow 39. By, using a plurality of slots and pins as shown in Fig. 3, this posittionmay be varied by circumferential adjustment of thecap and casing and then the circuit closer may be utilized in conjunction with the flared screw portion 40 to control the direction of the light. Likewise the circuit closer and clip 41 may be cooperatively used to control the direction of the light. It is obvious that with the ordinaryscrew connection, replaced by this joint,the circuit closer would be limited to only one position upon the casing and the above unctions would be absent. There are other conjunctive uses of the clip 41 and the circuit closer 15. For in stance if the clip is moved around the'casing to a point where it lies over the circuit closer retaining button 4.8 a very tight gripping action will obviously result which is very useful when the flashlight is carried in the pocket of a. hard surfaced hunting coat.

With the clip and circuit closer in the same position the clip prevents accidental movement of the circuit closer when the light is carried in a tool box or where articles can move the circuit closer-to a position where it permits the battery to run down.

Although this invention has been described in bu't a single embodiment there has been no intention to limit it in any way as its application to other and various forms was and is contemplated.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a flashlight, a casing, a lamp carried thereby, a battery in said casing in connection with said lamp, circuit closing means on the casing, and a casing supporting clip adjustable on the casing to form a spaced guard for said circuit closing means.

2. In a flashlight, a casing, a one piece elbow detachably mounted on one end of said casing, a lamp in said elbow, a casing supporting clip, and means on said clip for 4. In a flashlight, a cylindrical casing, a. a

cap, means on said casing and cap for detachably connecting said casing and cap in relatively varied circumferential relation, an elbow on said cap, a lamp support in said elbow, and a casing support member on said cap and circumferentially movable thereon.

5. In a flashlight, a cylindrical casing, a cap, means on said casing and cap for detach ably connecting said casing and cap in rela' tively varied circumferential relation, an elbow on said cap, a lamp support in said elbow, a casing support member on said cap and circumferentially movable thereon, and a clamp on said member for preventing dislodgment of said cap and casing.

6. In a flashlight, a casing, a battery in said casing, a cap detachabiy secured on one end of said casing. an elbow integral with said cap, a lamp support in said elbow, a lamp in said support, a contact strip carried by said cap and disposed in said elbow in connection with the lamp, a. circuit closer on the casing, and a casing supporting ciip rotatable on said casing to cover said circuit closer in spaced relation thereto.

T. The combination with a flashlight C0111 prising a casing, a battery therein, a lamp, electrical connection between said casing, battery and lamp, and a circuit closer on the casing; of a casing supporting clip on the casing); and movable thereon, and a flange on said c ip to maintain said clip in slightly spaced relation to the circuit closer.

In testimony whereof I ailix my signature.

ANKEIT S. LYHNE. 

